Fading Memories
by LOSTnDomsEyes
Summary: About 13 years after the crash, Charlie is alone on the island besides Aaron. As the years pass and the memories slip further from his mind he begins to lose the will to go on.
1. Love Songs

Howdy! Ummm...with all the excitement of LOST starting back in 4 days Squee I figure'd I'd post this. Haven't finished it. Not sure where it's going, but I do have like the 1st 3 chapters. Anyways Please comment with any ideas you have or if you like/dislike the story line. With that...

Charlie sat under a huge tree. Staring out onto the ocean. Watching the waves smash against the rocks. This wasn't unusual. He did it every day. Every day for a long, long time. The beach was the same as it had been that horrifying day long ago when fate brought the unfortunate survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 to this place. The only difference from when he had first laid eyes upon it fifteen years ago were the houses. They were in no way advance just log houses. Like people had made by hand in the early 1800's. Michael and Jin had spent months working on them for everyone. There were only a few of them left now. With no one there to keep them up they had caved in. Different things had happened. Storms mainly. Yep, only a few left. Charlie's which stood a few yards away from the old tree was the only one that had been kept up. But that makes sense because of the fact he was the only one still living there. Oh, besides Aaron.

Which leads us to our story. A sad story really, but what love stories aren't? Things don't happen like in the movies. Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty aren't real. Love can't save the world and it can't keep you alive forever now can it? Stories with happy endings are stories that haven't ended yet. Everyone dies in the end leaving their loved ones to greave. With that let's begin.

Aaron stared out the window of the old house to look at his father. Aaron being only 14 years old had to grow up before his time. By that I mean he didn't really get to have much of a childhood. He spent most of his days reading old books from the hatch, but you can only read the same books so many times before getting bored. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. They were both light colors not like his father. Charlie's hair was naturally a light brown anyway. It had just been bleached from staying out in the sun all day and his eyes we're dark blue. Nothing like Aaron's crystal colored ones. He was fairly small but was built as well. How couldn't you be growing up on an island? He took mental note that although his father was only 42 he looked as though he were 50. His dirty blonde hair turning lighter and lighter. Soon their would be no color left of it. He had laugh lines that was for sure. Aaron never could figure out where he got them from. In his short life Aaron had never seen his father smile more than 10 times. Usually to wish Aaron a happy birthday or something of that sort. Charlie use to sing. That is until his guitar broke about 5 years back. Aaron was surprised the old thing had survived as long as it had. But when he had had it he'd sing for hours. Mainly sappy love songs. Charlie was great at making songs. Aaron never did ask who they were for and Charlie never told. But ever since that old guitar broke Charlie didn't sing anymore. It wasn't like he spoke much anyway unless Aaron asked him a question. Then it would be the shortest answer possible usually a yes or no…if that. Sometimes it was a simple nod. Aaron really missed the guitar as he looked at the dusty thing sitting in the corner. He missed hearing his father's voice. Even if Charlie wasn't singing to him personally. Aaron would sit by the window and listen to Charlie sing for hours without Charlie even realizing it. Aaron walked out the door and took a seat next to his father.

"Tell me about her" He said suddenly. Charlie looked at Aaron for a second before responding.

"Tell you about who?" He asked as he turned back to the ocean.

"The woman in your songs" Charlie looked down at the ground and then smiled. It was the first time Aaron had seen him smile like that. It wasn't the small fake smile Charlie sometimes put on. It was real. It was sincere. It was definitely big enough to cause a few laugh lines.

"She was beautiful…looked just like you" He said as he looked back to the waves. He them started to talk. Not really to Aaron more like to himself. He looked dazed almost like he wasn't there. Back when he was happy so many years ago. Before Aaron could remember. Almost like he was looking at her… like she was standing there and that was why he was smiling. Aaron leaned back against the old tree hoping he would be listening for a while.

"We met the day of the crash. She was 8 months pregnant with you at the time…yet she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was so cute trying to drag her huge suitcase down the beach herself. I was curious as to why her husband wasn't helping her. I thought maybe he had been on the plane. I went to help her and found out she wasn't married. Why in the world someone so beautiful wasn't married is still a mystery to me…" The beach slowly began to fade and Charlie was back at that day. Helping Claire put her luggage on that old wheelchair and making stupid jokes. Of course he wasn't really there…in reality he was rambling on to Aaron. Probably saying more to the poor child than he ever said to him in his life. But he thought back to that day and he was lost in time. Lost in reality. Lost in Claire.


	2. There Again

Thanks for the review. I know I feel bad for Charlie to. Anyways here's Chapter 2. Hopefully I'll get more reviews as time goes by. Hopefully It's not to cunfusing for you. If it is let me know and I'll try my best to explain without giving away the ending. Okay so enjoy...

"It's been along time." Charlie said to the beautiful blonde Aussie standing in front of him. Her porcelain skin was flawless as ever. He knew she was there. She was waiting for him. Charlie watched her as she walked up to the old tree and took a seat between Aaron and himself.

"He's beautiful, isn't he?" Her voice said in that soft loving tone she always spoke in. Charlie's already huge smile grew. He had waited so long to hear her voice again. He knew she was there. Hell, he knew she was there every day. She was just hiding. Playing hard to get. For 13 years she had been playing hard to get. That was just like Claire. Just like how she had done so long ago when Charlie had asked to be her friend and she reclined. He knew she wanted his friendship. She was just playing hard to get.

"Yeah, he is. He looks just like you." Aaron had a confused look in his eye. Charlie was staring right at him but he wasn't looking at him. It was like when you see a small feather floating through the air and your eyes zoom in on it.

"Finish the story" Aaron said trying to knock his father out of his trance. It didn't work. Charlie was in his own dream world staring at Claire. She smiled softly before saying

"Yes…finish the story." It took Charlie's mind a second to process the thought. Claire lightly took his hand. He was back. He never thought he would be happy to be back. It was all there. He saw Jack. Good 'Ol Jack running. Where was he running? He looked over to see a very pregnant woman and a heavy weight guy sitting under the wing of the plane. He smiled. He knew they weren't going to get hurt. He had relived this day in his mind so many times before. Never this real though. It was all there exactly as it had been. Details so small that there was no way he could have remembered them before. He then thought for a second before turning toward the huge sound of an engine running. Yep, there he was. Standing there in his striped long sleeve shirt. Suddenly Charlie felt a pair of small fragile arms wrap around him from behind. It was Claire. Not the 8 months pregnant Claire in false labor a few yards away. It was the Claire that had brought him here. The Claire that had brought him back. Charlie smiled before asking

"How's Aaron" Claire smiled

"Aaron's fine. You know that. He's waiting for you…right where you left him."

"I don't talk to him much. I use to sing to you all the time, but I don't talk to him much. It's to real…To hard to face the truth." Claire saw the pain in Charlie's eyes as she released her grip around him and took his hand.

"Come on" She said with a teasing smile "Let's go for a walk" She laughed as she looked at her pregnant self laying on the sand with Hurley. "You don't want to stick around here do you?"

"What do you mean" Charlie asked slightly worried she might leave him.

"I mean…let's go to a happier time" With that it faded… not all of it just certain things people we're in different spots and certain objects had been moved out of sight mainly luggage. They we're in a different place or more correctly a different time. He watched as he loaded Claire's luggage onto a wheelchair. He walked closer. Just close enough to hear himself say that all to familiar line

"Men…bloody useless" Him and Claire laughed slightly.

"I never knew what to say to you." He said looking into her crystal eyes. "I was always so nervous when you were around"

"Well, you didn't seem to be that nervous when you got me pregnant" She smiled to herself remembering that wonderful night. Charlie's huge smile disappeared and his normal frown took it's place.

"I'm sorry" He said looking down at the ground.

"What are you sorry about? That was the most fun I ever had and those we're the best 7 months of my life" She said as she watched the old Charlie stumble out of the woods. "I wonder what you were doing?' She asked almost in a mocking way.

"You know exactly what I was sodding doing" He paused for a second. "I'm not a good person, Claire. I don't know what you ever saw in me"

"You mean you weren't a good person" He smiled for a second before adding

"Can we go somewhere else?"


	3. History Repeats

Thanks for the comment. Notice no s on comments. LoL. Well I enjoy reviews, but I suppose it's all for fun anyway right? Well here's Chapter 3. Hopefully I'll get some more reviews for it. I hope it's not to confusing. Ask if you have questions. Ummm...I put the stuff they said in the past in italics hopefully that helps...Other than that Enjoy!

Everything started to fade. Everything looked cleaner. There were small tents up now where people had moved there stuff and the fuselage was gone. It had been burned a couple of weeks before. Claire took Charlie's hand and smiled.

"Do you like this place better?" Charlie's smile grew into his old crooked grin, long since forgotten. He walked up to the two forms sitting on the beach. One very much pregnant and the other very much in love. He sat down and watched it like it was yesterday.

"_Best bloody peanut butter I've ever tasted."_ He laughed at his facial expressions as he sucked on his finger.

"Another one of my corny jokes"

"I thought it was cute… You ready to go. We have a lot of places to go and not that much time."

"Why did you come back? Why are you dong this? Bringing back all of these memories."

"I think you already know the answer to that…Let's go"

By now it was all to familiar. The fading of the old times behind him and the arrival of the next scene. This time they weren't at the beach. Charlie looked around and it took him a minute to realize where he was, but where was he and Claire? As if on cue Claire came stomping through the jungle Charlie at her heels.

"_Why did you follow me Charlie?" _

"_Well I think it's because I like you" _

"_You don't like me Charlie you feel sorry for me" _Charlie and Claire watched the old memories come back. The whole scene was played out in front of them. _"Birthing Emergency Adverted" _and even _"Ethan...where's Jack?" _He watched as he and Claire we're drug into the jungle and then it faded.

When Charlie looked around again he was still in the jungle. He heard some rustling in some nearby bushes and whipped around to see Jack and Kate running through the jungle. They stopped abruptly in front of him and for a second he thought their gaze of horror was directly at him. He was partially correct as he turned around to see himself hanging from an old tree. Charlie was so into the scene playing out in front of him that he didn't hardly take notice of Claire standing there watching along. He watched as his past self got ripped out of death's grip and brought back to this cruel world. Although it wasn't so horrible back then, when he wasn't alone.

"Sometimes I think it would have been easier on everyone if Jack would have stopped trying. If he had left me in peace." Charlie turned to Claire who gave a sympathetic look.

"Nobody would have made it without you Charlie. We would have giving up years ago if you had died. The only reason we opened our eyes in the mornings were because we knew you were there to say something to make us laugh. Charlie…you were our hope."

"For some reason I don't think that is necessarily true. I didn't help much at all. I was always getting in someone's way. Jokes were about the only way I kept myself sane."

"I think your jokes were the only thing that kept me sane too." Charlie smiled brightly.

"Well, I'm glad I helped someone."

Before he had even had a chance to finish his sentence she had rewrapped his hand and they were back on the beach. Charlie turned to see himself sitting on a peace of the fuselage. Kate wrapping him in a blanket. Jack checking on his neck, asking him questions with no reply.

"It seems like this last decade wasn't the only time you had stopped talking to anyone."

"You're the most important part of me, Claire. You're my hope, my reason to live, to go on…I blamed myself when you were gone then, and I blame myself that you are gone now. I should have protected you both times. You were my responsibility."

"That's sweet, but don't worry about that. I'll never leave you forever. I'll always come back for you. I came back then, and I came back now."


End file.
